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Roundup: Canadian stock rises on health shares surge

Xinhua, March 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market moved higher Monday over a solid rally in the health shares boosted by an acquisition deal.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 95.97 points, or 0.65 percent, to 14,908.39 points.

Healthcare led the increase by 7.08 percent when the pharmacy benefit company Catamaran Corp. shot up 24.72 percent, or 15.04, to 75.88 Canadian dollars (about 59.78 U.S. dollars) per share after it received a 12.8-billion U.S. dollars takeover offer from UnitedHealth Group Inc., a diversified health care company in the United States.

Metals and Mining logged another solid gain by 4.02 percent, as Teck Resources Ltd. surged 11.33 percent to 19.45 Canadian dollars after reports emerged that it was in merger discussions with Chilean copper miner Antofagasta to create one of the world's largest copper producers. But the Vancouver-based copper giant denied the report after the closing bell.

And another basic metals company First Quantum Minerals Ltd. soared 3.04 percent to 15.25 Canadian dollars.

Energy sector gained 0.66 percent despite declines in oil prices. Cenovus Energy Inc. advanced 4.06 percent to 21.52 Canadian dollars while Suncor Energy Inc. added 0.66 percent to 36. 87 Canadian dollars.

Financials, the most weighed sector, rallied 0.14 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank increased 0.23 percent to 53.30 Canadian dollars.

Losers included Info Tech, down 0.38 percent, when BlackBerry Ltd. slumped 6.29 percent to 11.17 Canadian dollars.

And Utilities gave back 0.26 percent as Emera Incorporated fell 0.70 percent to 40.85 Canadian dollars and Canadian Utilities Ltd. slipped 0.37 percent to 38.86 Canadian dollars.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported on Monday that the Industrial Product Price Index increased 1.8 percent in February, largely as a result of higher prices for energy and petroleum products.

However, the turbulence of the oil prices in low levels is still weighing on the Canadian economy. Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Monday that the falling oil prices are " atrocious" to the Canadian economy but a cheaper currency and incipient U.S. revival should help exports drive a recovery.

The Canadian dollar moved lower Monday to 0.7878 U.S. dollar, compared with 0.7937 U.S. dollar on Friday. Endite